Term 3, Week 2 21 July 2021

Welcome back to Term 3!

We begin this term with new restrictions within schools and with the uncertainty of what our future will look like, we have had to make the hard decision to cancel a number of school events. Your patience and understanding during these times is always appreciated.

TERM 3, 2021 COVID-19 SCHOOL GUIDELINES FOR PARENTS & FAMILIES

The guidelines provided to you here are in line with the directives we have received from the NSW Department of Education, informed by NSW Health. These guidelines are subject to change at any time based on government advice, and I therefore encourage you to monitor the following website for updates:

https://education.nsw.gov.au/covid-19

Grahamstown Public School is in a local government area (LGA) where Level 2 school restrictions are currently in place. Information on Level 2 school operations include the following guidelines for our school. These guidelines include:

• Students will be in their normal classes, following their normal timetable.

• If students and families have been in a COVID-19 affected LGA in the holidays, they should follow the public health orders and advice from NSW Health found at:

https://www.health.nsw.gov.au/Infectious/covid-19/Pages/public-health-orders.aspx

Parents and carers must follow the changes regarding drop off and pick up of students, including:

• Staying in the car when dropping off and picking up children if safe to do so

Black Swan News Grahamstown Public School

29 Hastings Drive, Raymond Terrace 2324. Phone – 02 4987 6510, Fax – 02 4987 6513 Email: grahamstow-p.school@det.nsw.edu.au Website: grahamstow-p.schools.nsw.gov.au

Term 3

2 Aug – Rescheduled Zone Athletics Track

16-20 Aug – Science Week

23-27 Aug – Book Week

25 Aug – Book Week Parade

17 Sept – Last day of Term 3

Payments Due

Voluntary School Contribution $21

Mathletics $12

Stage 3 Camp

Year 6 Shirt $38

SCHOOL EVENTS

• Maintaining physical distancing by avoiding gathering outside of school gates • Remaining outside of school grounds (note some exceptions may apply regarding necessary parent

meetings, vulnerable students or students with disability) • If entering the school, follow mask-wearing requirements and sign in using the Service NSW QR code and

school sign on register • Non-essential visitors are not permitted in schools. • Some visitors are permitted in schools based on the guidelines, as determined by the Principal on our site

until further notice. • Reasons for attendance may include wellbeing or learning related meetings with senior executive or learning

support officers. This will be determined on a case-by-case arrangement by the Principal • Students should not attend school if unwell, even with mild symptoms of COVID-19. • Parents should inform the school of all non-attendance at school in the usual manner • Any person with any COVID-19 symptoms will be sent home and should not return until they have received a

negative test result and are symptom-free. • In circumstances where children have other medical reasons for recurrent symptoms a letter from their GP is

sufficient to negate the requirement for a negative test. • Parents are encouraged to speak to the Principal in cases where students have medical concerns during the

pandemic. • Anyone who is unwell with COVID-19 symptoms is strongly encouraged to get tested and self-isolate until a

negative result is received.

While at school, masks or face coverings are recommended, not mandatory, in all indoor settings for:

• All students in Year 7 and above • All staff in school settings • Masks are mandatory on public transport. This applies to students aged 13 years and over, and staff when

travelling to and from school and during school excursions by public transport or by chartered or private transport services

• All extra curricula activities will be assessed on a case-by-case basis in Term 3 during Level 2 guidelines. A COVID-19 Safety Plan will be developed for any activities that are deemed suitable to proceed, in line with the current guidelines. We will make all efforts to assess the viability of continuing with activities scheduled throughout this period, ensuring we are compliant to the COVID-19 guidelines, while providing high quality experiences during this difficult time.

Communication Please note that Class Dojo is only for communication with your child’s classroom teacher. If you wish to speak with an Assistant Principal or Principal, then please contact the office directly.

Stage 2 Camp Cancellation Unfortunately, due to the extension of the current lockdowns, the decision has been made to cancel the Stage 2 Great Aussie Bush Camp excursion. All payments will be placed in to fees in advance unless a request for refund is received, please phone 4987 6510 or email grahamstow-p.school@det.nsw.edu.au for the refund to be processed.

Hunter Inter Schools Public Speaking Finals - Postponed until Term 4 Due to the current restrictions within schools the organisers of the Hunter Inter Schools Public Speaking Finals have made the tough decision to postpone the Zone finals until approximately Week 3 or 4 in Term 4. This is only a tentative date, as you can appreciate circumstances can change rapidly at the moment and is yet to be confirmed. If restrictions still apply or regional schools have progressed to Phase 3 by the end of Term 3, then organisers will have to unfortunately cancel the whole event.

Stage 2 Public Speaking Finals In Week 1 the finalists from Stage 2 participated in the Public Speaking Finals. Our finalists were Hayden, Amelia, Zaine, Marshall, Alana, Arabella and Alec. The overall winners were Arabella and Alec and highly commended went to Alana.

PBL

Each Monday all students are taught a lesson that relates to one of our PBL expectations. We follow the motto: Everyone, Everywhere, Every time. This helps our students understand what is expected of them at all times and ensures we have a consistent message throughout the school. If you wish to nominate a student for following the expectations in the community please email our school grahamstown-p.school@det.nsw.edu.au with your nomination. Week 2:

Assembly Awards

Term 2, Week 10

Kinder Llamas K/1 Flamingos 1 Frogs Reece

Arriella

1/2 Rabbits 2 Marsupial Mice 2/3 Meerkats Twinae Indiana Bella

Audrey Peyton Paige

Poppy

3 Lions 3/4 Taipans 4 Chameleons Macey Justice-May

Cyprus Kayley

Kamara Grace

4/5 Fireflies 5 Toucans 6 Butterflies Elsie Creeden Bailey

William Blake Xzavier

Dylan Sophia Kayde

Riley Maddox Alesha

Mason Aiden Sonny

Alec Ashton

6 Monkeys MC Lizards Badges Tamzin Kayde – Yellow

Dustin Xzavier – Whole Graham

Mackenzie Riley – Whole Graham

Chloe Tobias – Whole Graham

Brady Chloe – Whole Graham

Olivia – Blue

Jack – Yellow

Liam - Yellow

Jaiden – Yellow

Poppy - Red

“Little Grahams” On Tuesday we welcomed two groups of preschool students for our brand-new Little Graham’s program. These future Grahamstown students will be attending 90 minutes sessions each Tuesday, designed to prepare them for Kindergarten. Yesterday we got to play, read and sing about spiders, then create our own “gold back” spiders and save all sorts of creatures from a spider web. Everyone had a lot of fun and we can’t wait to do it all again next week!